The primordial pilgrimage was and continues to be a human manifestation to pray and meditate (Post THE PILGRIMAGE, AN ANCIENT PRACTICE OF WALKING); prayer is the means of communicating with the sanctities and their divinities, while the pilgrimage we are analyzing is discursive, that is, it is a resource that is used to transmit literary and poetic aspects to the rest of the pilgrims. I qualified it as discursive because I want to emphasize that the rhapsodes sought a meditative, complex, brooding, prolonged and extensive communication during their walks.
Their practice was carried out upon returning from traditional pilgrimages. A “WAY RETURN” of each pilgrimage during which they harangued (preaching, sermonizing, admonishing, proclaiming) and orally exposing thoughts, poems, speeches, literary passages, epistles, reflections, narratives, etc.
A combination of walking and poetry, which the pilgrim poets managed to organize and harmonize. Poetry and a pilgrimage, which in reality also combined other essential aspects: walking, speaking out loud, the customs of imitation and contact magic (Post THE PILGRIMAGE, AN ANCIENT PRACTICE OF WALKING ), mystical experiences, contemplation (1), meditation, etc.
The discursive pilgrimage is a literary and spiritual experience that consists of a journey walking along physical paths in which the rhapsode, through poetry or some other literary medium, explores physical and emotional landscapes, seeking answers to existential questions and transcending limits of everyday reality.
The roots of discursive pilgrimage lie in the ancient traditions of pilgrims who traveled to sacred places in search of spiritual enlightenment. Poetry, as a universal language, has always been a vehicle to express these transcendental experiences.
The pilgrim seeks something beyond himself, an ultimate truth or a connection with the divine. Through the pilgrimage, the poet experiences a personal and spiritual transformation.
Discursive pilgrimage always involves a physical movement to sacred places or sanctuaries; it has been an ancient practice that has inspired countless poets throughout history. This type of trip, by combining the physical practice of walking with the spiritual search, has given rise to experiences and teachings of great value and mystical depth. Its most relevant characteristics are:
- Physical experience: The poet immerses himself in a physical journey, walking long distances and facing the challenges along the way.
- Connection with nature: Direct contact with nature, landscapes and elements provides an inexhaustible source of inspiration.
- Spiritual search: The pilgrim seeks a transcendent experience, a deeper connection with himself and with the rest of his fellow pilgrims.
- Poetic record: Generally, the experiences of the pilgrimage and the paths traveled are transformed into verses, creating a poetic diary that reflects the emotions, reflections and transformations of the pilgrims.
Specific Cases of Discursive Pilgrimages
- El Camino de Santiago: One of the best-known routes traveled by poets of all times.
- Sufi pilgrimages: Sufi poets have made long pilgrimages to sacred places such as Mecca, seeking union with God through love and poetry.
- Beat poets: Some beat poets have made trips to India and other exotic places in search of spiritual experiences and new forms of poetic expression.
- Contemporary poets: Many contemporary poets continue to make pilgrimages of this type, seeking in this experience a way to reconnect with their roots and nature.
Why are poets attracted to this type of travel?
- Inspiration: The path offers an infinite number of images, sounds and sensations that stimulate creativity.
- Introspection: The isolation and solitude of the road favor reflection and self-knowledge.
- Connection to tradition: By following ancient routes, poets connect with a rich history and literary tradition.
- Personal improvement: The path is a physical and mental challenge that allows the poet to overcome his limits and grow as a person.
Today, this type of pilgrimage is a valid and relevant form of expression. Many contemporary poets use this resource to search and find literary experiences by taking a journey, real or imaginary, through the written word. This version is called Poetic Pilgrimage, and it can take various forms:
- Physical journey: The poet undertakes a journey to a significant place, whether it is a sacred place, a natural landscape, or a city with a historical past.
- Inner journey: The poet immerses himself in his own inner world, exploring his memories, his emotions and his dreams.
- Journey through words: The poet creates his own poetic universe, where words are the vehicles that transport him to different realities.
In Post THE PILGRIMAGE, AN ANCIENT PRACTICE OF WALKING, I expressed: “The Mahayana (philosophy of emptiness) led Buddhism towards a reflective and dissertation pilgrimage (Post THE PATH OF VACUITY). What I want to emphasize is that this type of “DISCURSIVE OR POETIC PILGRIMAGE” has been carried out since time immemorial; it could be said that since the pilgrimages were forged, it emerged at his side.
An argument that explains their birth is that these pilgrim poets, with the purpose of highlighting the transmission of the magic of IMITATION and a magic of CONTACT, which they had received through their contact with the mystical and spirituality in the sanctuary they visited, had the need to retransmit it.
As I mentioned in Post THE PILGRIMAGE, AN ANCIENT PRACTICE OF WALKING, “Pilgrimage is WALKING, and a magic of IMITATION and a magic of CONTACT is achieved, which allows them to have the power to communicate with divinity. The magic of CONTACT is performed because the divinity with which the pilgrims will communicate left their energy (things, remains, miracles, etc.) in the locus-sanctuary where the pilgrims will arrive to receive that emergy and power. But their physical approach to the sanctuary is only achieved by walking and upon arriving in this way they can make physical-spiritual contact in the sanctuary, to be able to communicate spiritually. Mystical communication is achieved.
Two mystical-artistic aspects by which the pilgrim poets were guided:
1º.-Poets who traveled great distances to say poems to people, out loud.
They combined poetry out loud with walking: The journeys of the different poets in their aforementioned eras, singing their own and other people’s poems, and infinite walking. They traveled along paths and the streets of the different towns where they went to say their poems aloud. A true poetic pilgrimage out loud. These poetic pilgrims were the minstrels, the aedos, rhapsodes, troubadours.
2nd.-Religious pilgrims, some of whom were also poets or lovers of poetry, and liked to say it out loud, and once charged with the strength obtained in the sanctuaries they visited, they transmitted it to the people they contacted to transmit their truth, mysticism, how to reach God, and also “sing” his favorite poems.
Below I explain the essential reasons why the poets tried to retransmit that mystical force (magic of IMITATION and magic of CONTACT) obtained in the sanctuaries visited.
Sanctuaries are raised and erected because:
- The deity that is venerated had an appearance – or several –
- A simple relic (thing or small body part) of the divine person being venerated was found.
- An important relic (important part of the body) of the divine person being venerated was found.
- The performance of a miracle is attributed to the divinity or saint that is venerated
- It is a holy place that for some reason is venerated to that divinity
- He passed through that place and they turned it into a sanctuary.
- He is credited with carrying out individual and collective healings by coming into his presence.
Let us develop our own pilgrimage, and whether with our own poems or those of some poet; let’s walk and transmit all kinds of emotions and joys, through words, out loud.
Let’s make the landscapes, objects and characters that appear in the poems acquire a symbolic meaning; Let’s make the language we use rich in images and metaphors, and achieve an intense sensory and emotional experience.
(1)Loya Lopátegui, Carlos, Digital Synergy: Meditation and Contemplation are Boosted by AI, EMULISA, Mexico, 2025. Available on Amazon. Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0D9WCKC33